As we head toward Christmas, let’s pop in at Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus – the place where

shepherds bowed down to worship the Son of God. Sometimes we forget that the Christmas story had

it’s beginning in the heart of God long before Gabriel appeared to a young girl in Nazareth, so today

we’re visiting Bethlehem many centuries before that event.

The news reporters in the little town of Bethlehem knew the basic rules of journalism, as evidenced in

this breaking news recorded in the book of Ruth:

In the days when the judges governed [Israel], there was a famine in the land [of Canaan]. And a

certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live temporarily in the country of Moab with his wife and

his two sons. The man’s name was Elimelech… (Ruth 1:1-2)



Who – Elimelech with his wife and his two sons

What – left Bethlehem in Judah

When – in the days when judges governed Israel (sometime between 1200 and 1100 B.C)

Where – went to live temporarily in the country of Moab

Why – because there was a famine in the land of Canaan

Good journalism – no personal opinion or judgment tucked in there – no mention of the writer’s

perception of all the emotions involved in the process. Just the facts.

It’s interesting to note that the name Bethlehem in Hebrew means “house of bread” – but you’ll notice

from our Scripture that the house of bread had run out of bread. There was a famine in the land of

Canaan, and “a certain man of Bethlehem” decided to uproot his family and journey to the pagan

country of Moab where he heard there was food.

Because the name Elimelech means “my God is king,” I would like to think that he sought God’s wisdom

as he made this decision for his family. As head of the household, he would have felt the weighty

responsibility for his family’s survival.

Elimelech couldn’t have known the rest of the story or even the next events of the story, but he had to

make a decision – and we now know that God’s hand was involved in that decision.

As you face decisions today, are you seeking God’s wisdom? Do you trust that the providential hand of

God is moving in your world – even when you can’t see it? Do you trust God with the rest of YOUR

story? That’s called faith – are you leaning into it?

By Judy Shrout

Judy is the wife of Tom, mother of Heather, mother-in-law of Jim, grandmom to T.J., Ainsley, and

Maggie, and grandmother-in-law to Piper.